Event Coverage: SEMA 2014 – The Beginning

As I type this I am at home resting my throbbing feet after two and a half days of frantically running around the Las Vegas Convention Centre capturing as much of SEMA as possible in the time I was there.

Going into the event with a truncated schedule I knew covering the entire show was impossible, but coming home without a diverse selection of vehicles wasn’t something I would be happy with.

Being without a doubt one of, if not the best, car events on the planet it’s always been a top priority of mine to to help those of you that can’t attend SEMA feel as though you were there too.

Today’s coverage starts from my shortest day of the week, which was the Monday before the show officially opened. On this day media technically isn’t allowed in the halls so most of the coverage comes from outside the venue.

This is, quite literally, the first photo I took at SEMA 2014, I think I picked a great place to start if I do say so myself

Though getting my media pass and scoring a locker was my top priority on Friday, this Chevy stopped me in my tracks. Very tastefully done it remains one of my favourite vehicles of the 2014 eventAnother easy favourite was this chopped FordThe single driving light was certainly different, and I loved the detailing around where it protruded fromThis F150 was pretty interesting, I like the idea behind the fusion of off-road and on road styles…… and though the flares are extremely well done I am not 100% sold on their execution, they end somewhat abruptly for my tasteOn the other end of the truck spectrum is this s10 which had one of those paint jobs you only really see on minitrucksSome of you may recognize this truck from the show Gas Monkey Garage, it’s pretty spiffy in the metalThis Silverado was also a stunner, these platforms really shine when the two tone paint is retainedOn the topic of two tone paint jobs, this Pontiac wagon wore blue over tan very nicelyI took advantage of the comparatively spare attendance Monday with a few long lens shots

Awesome builds seemingly extending forever…

Love the American flag on the intake manifold. Nice touch that gives the LS1 nay sayers another thing to get their knickers in a twist aboutShocker stickers are pretty passée these days but this car gets a pass because it was set up to rip the 1/4 mile a new oneLike every year there was a copious amount of vehicles baggedAirrex had their hands in a lot of them but so did Air Lift and AccuairBoth of these bagged black beauties used Accuair systemsThis Kia from Team Hybrid looked really good on translucent candy red K3 Projekt IND-SB6 wheelsI’m usually not one for the sportier side of VIP styling but this K Break Lexus was outstandingGreat touch with the livery on this car on this Rotiform/Air Lift Performance projectGreat looking wheel from the HRE heritage line

This was a killer combo that only got better once the motorcycle was added to the trailer. Look out for photos of that in later coverage

I took several photos of this CATuned e30. One of the nicest I’ve ever seenAs I’m sure you’re all aware Rocket Bunny kits were in high fashion at this years show. The popularity of these kits has really taken off here in North AmericaThis car appears in the coverage a few times, I was very surprised to see what was under the hood but that’s for the next segment!